It is a pleasure to introduce this special volume of the Industry and Health Care Series. It is special for the best of reasons: it is primarily written by industry representatives. Using the Washingยญ ton Business Group on Health 1978 Annual Meeting as its starting point, this volume captures the feelings, concerns, and experience of many who are leading industry's increasingly significant presence in health policy and economics. While many of the largest companies achieve more sophisticated levels of involvement, the fact remains that most companies of all sizes and especially the smaller businesses either will not or cannot devote the time or resources to become active participants. We hope this volume will help demonstrate the value of even one person's commitยญ ment. Although our organizational focus is Washington, the WBGH recยญ ognizes that, in the long run, the quality and cost of the health care most Americans receive will be-and should be-determined at the local level. To let this happen without industry involvement would represent an abdication of both responsibility and opportunity. Fortunately, we see a growth of industry involvement, growth not just in terms of numbers but also in terms of the scope of activities. โ{128}ข Recognizing that the key to changing provider behavior is to change the economic incentives, emanating from the major payers, em- vi Preface ployers are subjecting their employee benefit plans to the most comยญ plete scrutiny in many years
CONTENT
I. Introduction -- 1. A Challenge to Industry -- II. Government Perspectives -- 2. President Carter's Principles for Health Care Cost Containment and National Health Insurance -- 3. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Initiatives in HMO Development and Health Promotion -- 4. Congressional Health Policy: The Years Ahead -- 5. Competition or Regulation: The Case for Antitrust Enforcement -- 6. The States and Health Care Costs -- III. Private Sector Perspectives -- 7. Private Sector Cost Containment Initiatives -- 8. Labor Looks at National Health Insurance -- IV. Public And Private Together At The Local Level -- 9. Industry in Local Health Planning -- 10. Industry in Community-Level Coalitions -- V. The Challenge Revisited -- 11. Industry as Change Agent -- Appendix: Conference Participants Quoted
